I grew up in Birmingham and attended King Edward Five Ways Grammar School just west of the city centre. I leaned more toward the arts and languages than the sciences. At the age of 16, I decided I wanted to leave school and ‘get on with life’. I wanted to do something useful and to help people. My father and brother were accountants, so I thought becoming a lawyer would be a useful addition to the family professions. I left school with nine O-levels, having taken three O-levels a year earlier than my peers.
Through my family’s professional network, my father arranged an articles of clerkship at a firm in Walsall, Slater Miller & Co. I joined when I was just 16 and commenced articles in the January of 1960. My father paid £150 to the firm for taking me on. I did not start to get paid until three years later.
While I was training, I did a course at Gibson and Weldon (latterly the College of Law) based in Guildford. I was tasked with reading Stephen’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. I then sat test papers and sent them off to be marked, generally scoring quite well.
After five years, I took my finals in London and passed with a Class 2 Honours and a distinction in company law. In 1964, the only way to find out your results was by buying a copy of The Times. I had not expected to receive honours so, on first glance, I thought I had failed, only to notice later that I had in fact passed.
I went on to become a partner at Slater Miller & Co. I remained there until I moved to Wiltshire in 1987 where I joined Forrester & Forrester in Malmesbury. (Forrester & Forrester then merged with Sylvester Mackett to become Forrester Sylvester Mackett as it is today.)
'I call myself a "dinosaur" because I am the last of a kind. I have done every type of law from conveyancing to probate, wills and company law. I have even acted in the magistrates’ and county courts in a gown'
Over the last 60 years, I have seen many changes in the law, mostly in technology. When I started there were not any electric typewriters, faxes or mobile phones. I recall that there was not even a direct line to London and you had to dial the operator in order to be put through. When I needed to make an international call to South Africa, I had to book a week in advance with the operator.
I call myself a ‘dinosaur’ because I am the last of a kind. In my career, I have done every different type of law from conveyancing to probate, wills and company law. I have even acted in the magistrates’ and county courts in a gown. I have very much been a general practitioner of law, much like a ‘good old family doctor’ offering a general service to their clients.
The law has changed in that practitioners used to know their fellow solicitors more than they do these days. It very much felt like a brother/sisterhood. Because I knew my adversaries well, this meant that in the courtroom I could give my clients the best service, as I knew my opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.
Career highlights include being a guest at a Law Society Annual Conference in 1975 where they celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Law Society. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were in attendance. Another highlight was working on the sale of a well-known law lord’s estate in Wiltshire and exchanging contracts at 8pm on a roadside in Leicestershire via my Nokia mobile phone.
I have been a notary public for 50 years. A notary, or notary public, can authenticate or witness most documents. A notary can also arrange legalisation or obtain apostilles, if needed. You will often require the services of a notary public when you have documents which are needed to be used abroad. The notary’s signature and seal will verify to the authorities in that country that any relevant checks have been carried out and that the document has been properly signed.
I now live in Herefordshire and very much enjoy the countryside. I used to keep horses and regularly enjoyed a ride out. I now have two dogs and a flock of free-range hens.
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